French West Africa in Wartime
Pierre Verger from P.1
'.
Portugal's Marines Parade Before the Governor at Sao Vicente, Cape Verde Islands
Though the official capital of the Cape Verde Islands is on productive Sao Tiago, the adminis
trator (taking salute on steps) prefers to live on this barren island, which is less molested by storms. Rains
are infrequent here, and most of the fresh water used is brought in by boat (page 372). To keep the few
shrubs going, residents drain their baths into sprinklers.
with a few diagonal avenues which lead to
roads into the country. The principal streets
are broad, with narrower secondary and cross
streets. Though dusty in the dry season and
muddy when the rains come, they are well
cared for, and no litter is to be seen even in
unoccupied lots. The French have insisted
upon adequate sanitary regulations.
Peanut Shellers Whir Incessantly
Scattered around the native quarter are a
number of elementary schools organized by the
French Government. Those I visited were all
for boys, for whom education is generally
reserved. Organized like the schools of corre
sponding grade in France, they strive as a
major objective to teach the natives to speak
good French.
The French section of the town is a bustling
spot. There large quantities of the peanuts
barged in from the country are shelled. The
whir of the machines used for this purpose
can be heard all day long and, during the busy
season, far into the night, for two shifts of
men are employed to run them.
In the larger towns the trading companies
have two classes of stores-one for Europeans
and one for natives. The two groups of cus
tomers rarely mix.
In smaller places the
stores are primarily for the natives, and sepa
rate corners are set aside for white customers.
Branch stores in outlying villages are often
run entirely by native employees.
Native men tailors with foot-power sewing
machines set up their equipment in or near the
retail stores which cater to natives (p. 407).
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